P-TECH schools slated to open in the mid-Hudson

NEWBURGH — At Newburgh Free Academy North on Thursday, high school students in a bioengineering class were busily creating prosthetic hands.

BY PAULINE LIU

NEWBURGH — At Newburgh Free Academy North on Thursday, high school students in a bioengineering class were busily creating prosthetic hands.

Ingeniously made from cardboard, rubberbands, tape and string, the hands were agile enough to pick up tennis balls.

Welcome to the future.

The stage is set for courses like this one to be offered at two experimental tuition-free high schools slated to open in the mid-Hudson in a few months.

Now, what's needed are students.

Applications are now available online for the region's new P-TECH schools. That's short for Pathways in Technology Early College High School.

The programs are not for everyone. They're geared for economically disadvantaged students who will be entering ninth grade this fall with no real plans to attend college.

The six-year STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) program would enable them to graduate with not only a high school diploma, but also an associate's degree. Students will get a prime shot at well-paying, high-skills tech jobs right out of high school.

In Newburgh, the new Excelsior Academy at NFA has openings for 50 freshmen interested in studying information technology. The deadline is April 25. Excelsior is partnering with IBM, which will provide students with 1-to-1 mentoring. They will also earn an Associate in Applied Science degree from SUNY Orange.

"It's going to be a school within a school," said Kevin Rothman, Excelsior Academy house principal. Since the program has an extended school year that will begin on July 7, Rothman explained that accelerated students could finish in less than six years.

It's not clear which of NFA's two campuses will house the program. The district has agreed to let the students pick.

Meanwhile, the application deadline for Hudson Valley P-TECH was originally set for Friday, April 11.

"We're going to extend the deadline and we'll have more information next week," said Ulster BOCES spokesperson Holly Brooker. The project led by Ulster BOCES is expected to serve 120 students in four counties — Dutchess, Orange, Sullivan and Ulster. The one or two sites selected for the program will be based on enrollment.

The ambitious project will focus on information technology and advanced manufacturing. Its partners are the Hudson Valley Council of Industry, the Kingston School District, SUNY New Paltz and a regional consortium consisting of BOCES and community colleges from each of the four participating counties.

"While the program has been characterized as a free education through the Associates degree, the reality is it is not free," said Chuck Khoury, Ulster BOCES superintendent. "Participating districts and community colleges will have to absorb the program costs," he added.

Seeking to replicate the success of IBM's P-TECH school in Brooklyn, Gov. Andrew Cuomo has planned for 16 new state funded P-TECHs to open across New York, though Khoury said the seven years of annual grants don't go far enough.

"$360,000 is not enough to run a fully functioning high school/ community college program," said Khoury.